Hake, Silver

Silver Hake is a fast-growing cod-like-fish found from Newfoundland to South Carolina. Two populations occur in U.S. waters, with the northern population having medium abundance while the southern population has low abundance. The U.S. populations are managed by the New England Fishery Management Council under a small mesh multispecies management plan. The Hake fishery off the Scotian Shelf is managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and abundance appears to be low.

Silver Hake is primarily caught in bottom trawls, which cause substantial damage to the seafloor. Bycatch is low due to the use of selective gear and area restrictions.

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Fish Key:

Species has a combination of problems such as overfishing, high bycatch, and poor management.

Some problems exist with this species' status or catch methods, or information is insufficient for evaluating.

Species is relatively abundant, and fishing methods cause little damage to habitat and other wildlife.

A fishery targeting this species has been certified as sustainable and well managed to the Marine Stewardship Council's environmental standard. Learn more at http://www.msc.org.

These fish contain levels of mercury or PCBs that may pose a health risk to adults and children. Our source of information is http://seafood.edf.org/. We also recommend that you check local advisories.